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Veterans Education and Transition Services

Veterans Education and Transition Services (VETS) provides a resource center for all the military-affiliated population on campus. We strive to provide the tools and assistance necessary for students to achieve academic success while fostering camaraderie and engagement. VETS operates out of the 4th Floor of the Student Union Memorial Center, Rm 404-PP and is open Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm, and Friday 8am-5pm.

VETS is an organization run by veterans, spouses, dependents, and current service members who through their shared experiences endeavor to maintain a dynamic and effective program which is responsive to the needs of our community.

If you have questions concerning anything please feel free to contact vetsofc@email.arizona.edu or call 520-626-8380. You can also request to be added to our listserv to be kept up to date on all events and activities.

The VETS Center on main campus has expanded and moved twice since first opening its doors in the fall of 2009. The VETS Center is approximately 3800 square feet and had 11,106 visits in the fall of 2015.

The Arizona Health Science Center (AHSC) VETS Center opened in November of 2013 following Veterans Day. The AHSC VETS Center is approximately 440 square feet and is designed to better engage our medical, nursing, pharmacy, and public health student veterans.

TOP Legacy
TOP (Tours Of Peace) Vietnam Veterans was an independent, nonprofit organization, created in 1998 for helping veterans and families through programs associated with Tours Of Peace. The programs included emotional support for Vietnam veterans, support for their families, humanitarian work in Vietnam, and the personal effects program. TOP Vietnam Veterans recovered personal effects left in Vietnam after the war, such as dog tags and clothing, and returned them to veterans and surviving family members. These personal belongings are both a remembrance and a way to honor the veteran's service. In keeping up with the legacy of TOP, The University of Arizona VETS program has pledged to continue the mission to return these personal effects to the veteran or surviving family members!

Warrior Scholar Project (WSP)
The University of Arizona hosted the Warrior Scholar Project (WSP) on August 5–13, 2016. Created in conjunction with Yale University, WSP consists of an immersive one-week academic boot camp at America’s top universities for veterans who were enlisted and planning on attending a college or university. Other host universities include Vasser College, Yale, University of Michigan, Harvard, UNC Chapel Hill, Syracuse, Cornell, Georgetown, University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California, and the University of Chicago.

Honor Flight of Southern Arizona
The University of Arizona, in partnership with the Honor Flight of Southern Arizona, sponsored an Honor Flight 0n May 21-23, 2016. Eighteen student veterans, four staff, and our donor served as guardians for 24 WWII and Korean War veterans to visit memorials in Washington, DC. A second University of Arizona Honor Flight is being scheduled for the spring of 2017. In the fall 2015 two UA student veterans served as guardians on a Southern Arizona Honor Flight.

Dr. Faten Ghosn, Associate Professor School of Government and Public Policy and Middle Eastern and North African Studies

Dr. Ed Prather, Associate Professor, Astronomy

The role of Faculty Fellows at UA are to foster students' connection to UA as a whole, help make a large school feel much smaller, and to create avenues for student-faculty relationship building.

Networking and Employment Events
VETS has hosted a plethora of networking and employment events from navigating USA jobs for federal employment to LinkedIn workshops with a number of companies looking to specifically hire veterans. Amazon, Comcast, Intuit, Raytheon, TEKsystems, and USAA are just a few of the companies we’ve invited to speak to our students.

Supportive Education for Returning Veterans (SERV) Online
Creating an online version of SERV beginning with the Resiliency course. SERV consists of five courses designed for veterans to transition from the military into higher education. The courses satisfy graduation requirements and aim to increase student resiliency while increasing retention rates.

Student Veteran Mentorship & Network: Connecting to the college & future employees
Creating a mentorship and networking program within the colleges to connect incoming student veterans to student veterans and staff within their departments and colleges. Additionally, we are working directly with employers who are seeking to hire veterans and creating an online portal for conversation within each college and for student veterans and employers to connect directly.

University of Arizona Veterans Alliance Training
Three-part military and veteran training to education faculty, staff, and students on military & veteran culture, issues related to this population, and engaging with this population.

Welcome Back and Finals events
VETS kicks off each semester with a chance for community and campus partners to meet the students they serve. This provides an opportunity to put a face to the name of our most important partners. During finals week we provide breakfast to help fuel the brains of our student population.

MIlitary-Affiliated Orientations
VETS participates in freshman, transfer, and graduate/professional student orientations in order to engage our population before they hit the campus. New students are called prior to their orientation in order to make them aware of the resources and services available to them.

Partnerships:

Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS)

Lead Psychologist of the SAVAHCS provided weekly one-on-one counseling and group counseling out of the VETS Center until his retirement. Initiated, unofficially in 2006, officially in 2008. Following his retirement in 2014 the University of Arizona hired him full time to work in the VETS Center

The Transition Patient Advocate for OEF/OIF/OND providing healthcare guidance and appropriate follow up for student veterans in the VETS Center regularly throughout the year: Initiated 2010

Nurse practitioner enrolling student veterans into the VA Health Care System out of Campus Health 4-5 times per semester: Initiated 2014

Information Technology VA Work Study Partner Program. Partnering with the IT department to train student veteran, VA work studies who will portion time between the SAVAHCS and the UA VETS Centers: Initiated June 2016

Pat Tillman Foundation
One of 17 partner institutions with the Pat Tillman Foundation, six current Tillman Scholars.

Disability Resource Center (DRC)
An access consultant at the DRC is designated for veterans who require accommodations for disabilities.

Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic, UA James E. Rogers College of Law
Provides Students the opportunity to assist military service members and veterans with legal issues, including representing them before local Veterans Courts, as well as work on policy issues related to military service

Vice Provost Office for Instruction and Assessment
Partnered in the creation of a video designed for faculty to better engage student veterans.